Prince William stunned by phone hacking scandal

Prince William was stunned at the extent of the phone hacking scandal that rocked the U.K. last year (11).

The second-in-line to the throne unwittingly helped to uncover illegal voicemail interception by a private investigator working for the News of the World tabloid when he complained to aides about leaked information appearing in the publication.

His security staff established that the details were coming from a third party accessing his cell phone messages and the newspaper's office was raided by cops, setting in motion a chain of events that led to legal action from hundreds of celebrities who had been targeted and the closure of the News of the World last year (11).

Journalist Tom Bradby, a friend of the prince, had left the voicemail message that was accessed by the paper, and admits both he and the royal were shocked when the full truth of the hacking emerged.

He tells S magazine, "I've spoken to William a lot about this since, and I think both of us are slightly stunned by the scale of what was going on. What we both realised, looking back, was that phone hacking was a massive explanation for the climate of mistrust that both princes (William and his brother Harry) lived in. Mistrusting some of their friends was pretty awful for them. They endlessly obsessed about who was leaking this and who was leaking that, and it was the bane of their lives.

"Since the whole thing came to light, all that has stopped. They've realised that their friends, and even casual acquaintances, are not betraying them, and I think that has made a huge difference to their lives."